Flash flooding swamps Colorado

Homeowner Chris Ringdahl, left, is comforted by family friend Katherine MacIntosh, right, in front of her possessions as they cleanup from the floodwaters in Longmont, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

Floodwaters have affected a 4,500 square-mile section of the state inundating entire neighborhoods and destroying bridges and roads.

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The sun rises over a portion of railroad track undermined by flooding days earlier, in Longmont, Colo., Sept. 17, 2013.

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A flood victim is helped off of a helicopter at the Boulder Municipal Airport in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013, after being rescued.

Officials hope the number of missing will drop rapidly as communications are restored and people are evacuated throughout the region, as it did in Larimer County, where almost 250 people were lopped off a missing-persons list over the weekend, and Boulder County, where the list shrunk by 187 people.

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A National Guard truck that was damaged by floodwaters and was carried into a drainage ditch by the current lies next to twisted railroad tracks in Longmont, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

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FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Personnel look over a washed out bridge and damaged home in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

Several homes along the Fourmile Canyon Creek were destroyed or heavily damaged.

Rescuers grounded by weekend rains took advantage of the break in the weather to resume searches for people still stranded, with 21 helicopters fanning out over the mountainsides and the plains to drop supplies and airlift those who need help.

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A flight medic with the Colorado Air National Guard carries an evacuee up a hoist onto a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during flood rescue and recovery operations near Boulder, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

Military helicopter crews have flown hundreds of missions up the treacherous canyons of the Rocky Mountains to rescue about 2,000 people, and counting, and drop food and water supplies to stranded hamlets.

Credit: Sgt. Jonathan C. Thibault/U.S. Army/AP

Local man Joey Schendel, 19, looks for submerged items while helping neighbors salvage and clean their property in an area inundated after days of flooding in Hygiene, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

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Local resident Sue Sadar walks across a muddy trench, which used to be a lawn, as she and family members clean property in an area inundated by flooding in Hygiene, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

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Flood evacuee, 18-month-old Jourleni, plays on her inflatable crib, as her father Rafael Ruiz, left, and mother Evelyn Trevino, center, talk with Maria Hauser, a staffer at the Lifebridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

The church has been converted to a shelter for those made homeless by flooding. Jourleni and her parents' home in nearby Lyons, Colo., was destroyed in a flash flood several days earlier.

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Local residents, left to right, Levi Wolfe, Miranda Woodard, Tyler Sadar, and Genevieve Marquez help salvage and clean property in an area inundated after days of flooding in Hygiene, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

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A building is surrounded by floodwaters in Loveland, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013.

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Water flows through an evacuated neighborhood after days of flooding in Hygiene, Colo., Sept. 15, 2013. After somewhat abating for two days, rain returned to Colorado Sunday, creating a risk of more flooding and mudslides.

Four people are confirmed dead and two more are missing and presumed dead. Some 1,500 homes have been destroyed and about 17,500 have been
damaged, according to an initial estimate by the Colorado Office of Emergency Management.

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Local residents take in a closeup view of a damaged bridge on Weld County Road 1, Sept. 13, 2013, in Longmont, Colorado. Heavy rains for the better part of week have fueled widespread flooding in numerous Colorado towns.

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Water flows through an evacuated neighborhood after days of flooding in Hygeine, Colo., Sept. 15, 2013.

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Debris gathers in front of a home in La Salle, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013. The historic flooding forced thousands to evacuate the area.

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Water rushes down a flooded Topaz Street on Sept. 13, 2013 in Boulder, Colo. Heavy rains for the better part of week have fueled widespread flooding and evacuations in numerous Colorado towns, with the area reportedly already having received 15 inches of rain.

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Johnny Heginbootom looks out across his backyard, where a 10-foot fence is partially submerged on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, in Laporte, Colo. Heginbootom rents the home and on Sunday he and the home owners were working on pumping out water and removing soaked flooring.

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A pile of flooded belongings sits in a driveway on Iris Avenue in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 15, 2013. Colorado emergency management officials have released an initial estimate that says the ongoing flooding has damaged or destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.

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A field of parked cars and trucks sits partially submerged near Greeley, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013, as debris-filled rivers flooded into towns and farms miles from the Rockies.

Lefthand Canyon Drive is in ruins on Olde Stage Road in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013. Rescuers rushed by land and by air Saturday to evacuate Coloradoans stranded by epic mountain flooding as debris-filled rivers became muddy seas that extended into towns and farms miles from the Rockies.

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A group of trailers are smashed together at a storage site near Greeley, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013, as debris-filled rivers flooded into towns and farms miles from the Rockies. Hundreds of roads, farms and businesses in the area have been damaged or destroyed by the floodwaters.

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A section of highway is washed out by flooding along the South Platte River in Weld County, Colorado near Greeley, Sept. 14, 2013.

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A tractor sits partially submerged in a field after flooding along the South Platte River in Weld County, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013.

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Flood evacuees and loved ones talk at a drop-off point for those rescued after days of flooding, at a high school in Niwot, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013.

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People stand at the edge of a highway washed out by flooding along the South Platte River in Weld County, Colo., Sept. 14, 2013.

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Destruction on Gold Run Creek north of Boulder, Colo., Sept. 13, 2013.

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Homes in Lyons, Colo. are surrounded by water as flooding continues to devastate the Front Range, forcing thousands to evacuate, with an unconfirmed number of structures destroyed, Sept. 13, 2013.

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A residential neighborhood and a connecting road in Lyons, Colo., are separated by flood waters as flooding continues to devastate the Front Range Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

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Brian Montgomery helps his mother Barbara Yanari to clean up the mud in her flooded basement on Olde Stage Road in Boulder, Colo, Sept. 14, 2013.

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Homes in Longmont, Colo., are submerged as flooding continues to devastate the Front Range and thousands are forced to evacuate with an unconfirmed number of structures destroyed, Sept. 13, 2013.

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The overflowing St. Vrain River swamps a structure and a piece of heavy machinery following overnight flash flooding, one mile east of Lyons, Colo., Sept. 12, 2013.

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A man photographs floodwater in the underpass at Boulder Creek and Broadway Street in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 12, 2013.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said debris and mud coming off the mountainsides caused water to back up at the mouth of the Boulder Canyon, resulting in the creek's rapid rise.

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Residents of a neighborhood on the northern side of Boulder, Colo., work to divert floodwaters away from their homes, Sept. 12, 2013.

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Floodwaters course through a small park in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 12, 2013.

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Local residents look over a road washed out by a torrent of water following overnight flash flooding near Left Hand Canyon, south of Lyons, Colo., Sept 12, 2013. The widespread high waters kept search and rescue teams from reaching stranded residents in Lyons and nearby mountain communities as heavy rains hammered northern Colorado.

"There's no way out of town. There's no way into town. So, basically, now we're just on an island," said Lyons resident Jason Stillman.

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A road is washed out by a torrent of water following overnight flash flooding near Left Hand Canyon, south of Lyons, Colo., Sept 12, 2013.

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A roadway in Lafayette, Colo., collapsed, sending three vehicles into the water. Emergency crews managed to rescue the three drivers.

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Emergency workers rescue a man trapped inside a car that was submerged upside-down in flood waters in Lafayette, Colo., after a roadway collapsed due to massive flooding.

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Paul and Jean Snyder wade through a foot of water flooding their rural Erie, Colo. property on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013.

Destruction on Gold Run Creek north of Boulder, Colo., is seen in the aftermath of flooding in the area, Sept. 13, 2013.

Credit: AP/Earth Vision Trust

The Colorado National Guard is working non-stop to airlift stranded residents cut off from the rest of the state after record flooding washes out roads. Floodwaters have spread from the foothills to the eastern plains.